Bhutto wins a plurality, but the election outcome points toward further political paralysis

"THIS IS MY VICTORY. IT IS A CLEAR and decisive victory." That was Pakistan People's Party leader Benazir Bhutto's line last week, and, to an extent, the election results bore her out. After a bitter name-calling campaign, Bhutto and her P.P.P. gained 87 seats in the 217-seat National Assembly -- a plurality far short of a majority -- while her rival, Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, leader of the Pakistan Muslim League, took 72.

But while Bhutto reveled in her victory, she also said she was "disappointed" by the outcome. Independent analysts went further: they considered the result disastrous because in the...